Time for a third party?

I had an interesting conversation over the weekend. A young family guy with a small business told me had sat out the last election. This might explain how the Republicans took such a drubbing last Tuesday. Here’s a guy that fit precisely into the Republican voting mold – white male, outdoorsman with a family and a small business. But for the first time since he was eligible, he didn’t vote. When I asked him why he didn’t vote, he asked me what the turn out was for the election. I said in my district it was high, about 40%. Then he asked, “isn’t not voting a way of voting?” What does it say about our political parties when 60% of voters don't vote for anyone?

I suppose when faced with two bad choices, the principled thing to do would be to reject both. Sort of like if I were faced with choosing between ABC’s and CBS’s evening news coverage, I’d turn the TV off and go for a walk. Maybe that’s what 60% of the voters do every election cycle. Maybe they are not all as misinformed and/or apathetic as civics teachers and political pundits make them out to be. Maybe some percentage of the 60% is in fact the most principled among us.

We are told that America is an equally divided country. So if the 40% that vote is divided roughly 20-20 and just over a third of the 60% that don’t vote are of the principled variety, that would create a voting block capable of sweeping a third candidate to victory.

Two posts under, the Griffin notes that if the Democrats continue with politics as usual the time may be right for the rise of a third party. Third parties always seem to be the answer but they never seem to materialize. One reason is the winner take all Electoral College system. The founders wanted a way to insure a two party system. They did not want a system where the vote for president could be so fractured and diluted by multiple candidates that someone with a plurality of 30% could be elected president.

2008 is an odd year. Neither the president nor the vice president will be a candidate. There are no atractive leading candidates in either party right now. How about a third party McCain Liebermann ticket? It might be difficult for the hard right candidate sure to come out of the Republican primary and the hard left candidate sure to come out of the Democrat primary to compete with a third choice such as McCain Liebermann. Just 22% of the 60% of non-voters might set such a third party try on the road to victory.